Matthew Chapter 9 | Best devotional materials, including: introduction, background, main content, Bible reading and prayer video, Scripture, and post-reading prayer to help you gain a deeper understanding of biblical truth.

Dear brothers and sisters, peace in Christ. Welcome to our One Chapter per day Bible reading time.

By God’s grace, today we will read Matthew chapter 9.

In this chapter, we see the compassion and authority of Jesus displayed through many miracles—He heals a paralyzed man, calls Matthew the tax collector to follow Him, restores life to a ruler’s daughter, and heals a woman who had been suffering for twelve years. Jesus also opens the eyes of the blind and casts out demons, showing that no sickness or bondage is beyond His power.

At the end of the chapter, Jesus looks upon the crowds with deep compassion, seeing them as sheep without a shepherd, and He calls His disciples to pray for laborers in the harvest.

This passage reminds us that Christ’s heart overflows with mercy, and He invites us to experience His healing grace and join His mission of compassion. Let us listen with reverence and gratitude to God’s Word together. 

Matthew Chapter 9 Introduction:

Matthew chapter 9 continues to display Jesus’ divine authority through miracles, forgiveness, and compassion. This chapter reveals that Jesus is not only the healer of physical sickness but also the Savior who restores spiritual life. It emphasizes His mercy toward sinners, His power over death and disease, and His deep compassion for the lost. Through every encounter, Matthew 9 shows that Jesus came to call sinners, strengthen faith, and demonstrate the heart of God’s kingdom at work among people.

Main Content of Matthew Chapter 9:
Jesus Forgives and Heals the Paralyzed Man (verses 1–8)
Jesus heals a paralyzed man brought to Him by friends, but before performing the miracle, He declares the man’s sins forgiven. This provokes the scribes’ accusations of blasphemy, yet Jesus proves His divine authority by healing the man physically, demonstrating that He has the power to forgive sins.

The Calling of Matthew and Jesus’ Fellowship with Sinners (verses 9–13)
As Jesus passes by the tax booth, He calls Matthew, the author of this Gospel, to follow Him. When Jesus later eats with tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees criticize Him, but Jesus responds, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick... I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” This moment powerfully reveals His mission—to call sinners to repentance and to offer grace, not condemnation.

Questions About Fasting and New Life in Christ (verses 14–17)
When questioned about fasting, Jesus explains that His presence among His followers is like a wedding celebration. He uses the examples of new cloth and new wineskins to teach that His message of grace cannot be contained within old religious traditions—it brings new life and transformation.

Miracles of Healing and Restoration (verses 18–34)
This section includes several powerful miracles: Jesus raises a ruler’s daughter from the dead, heals a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years, gives sight to two blind men, and casts out a demon from a mute man. Each miracle demonstrates His compassion and authority over death, disease, and darkness.

The Compassion of Jesus and the Call for Workers (verses 35–38)
The chapter concludes with Jesus traveling through towns and villages, teaching, preaching, and healing. Seeing the crowds, He is deeply moved with compassion because they are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He urges His disciples to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest field—a call that still echoes today.

Spiritual Significance of Matthew Chapter 9:
Matthew 9 highlights the heart of Jesus’ ministry—mercy, restoration, and calling sinners to faith. It teaches that no one is too broken or unworthy to receive His grace. Jesus not only heals bodies but transforms hearts, inviting us to experience the new life of His kingdom. The chapter reminds believers to see others through Christ’s eyes—with compassion—and to participate in His mission by reaching out to the lost.

Through Matthew chapter 9, we see a Savior who forgives, heals, and restores. As we read, may our hearts be stirred to follow Him with faith, extend mercy as He did, and join in His mission to bring hope and healing to a weary world.

Matthew Chapter 9 YouTube Bible Reading and Prayer Video:

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

The Calling of Matthew

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.

Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

The Workers Are Few

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”